Shares in Carnival dropped over 20 per cent this morning in the wake of the cruise ship tragedy off the coast of Italy that has so far claimed six lives.

Carnival, the world’s largest cruise ship operator, owns the Costa Concordia ship that sank on Saturday 14 January 2012.

The firm announced today that it expects the loss of use of the ship to wipe £58 million off 2012 earnings and anticipated further costs that it could not yet determine.

Independent estimates calculate that the disaster could impact earnings by as much as £130 million.

Carnival’s shares plummeted on the FTSE 100 opening bell but have since recovered some lost ground and are currently trading down 16.19 per cent at 1,884p at 10.45am.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Carnival outlined the predicted losses, while chief executive Micky Arison commented, ‘At this time, our priority is the safety of our passengers and crew.

‘We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and our hearts go out to everyone affected by the grounding of the Costa Concordia and especially to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.’

The company revealed that it had insurance cover for the cruise liner with a deductible of around £20 million, and a further £6.5 million for third party personal injury liability.

Analysts at broker Liberum commented that the drop in share price was due to the anticipated loss in business for Carnival from negative press coverage more than the loss of use of the ship.

Liberum has kept its ‘buy’ rating on the stock, stating that the negative impact should be ‘relatively short term’, but warned investors to hold off until the full impact of the disaster was measured.